Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor, the 2005 USATF 10,000-meter champ, will make her 26.2-mile debut at the ING New York City Marathon on November 5

Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor, the 2005 USATF 10,000-meter champ, will make her 26.2-mile debut at the ING New York City Marathon on November 5. In 2006, McGregor has been fifth in the 8k at the USA Cross Country Championships, third at the USA 15K in Jacksonville in 50:20, fourth in the 10,000 at the USA Track & Field Championships in 32:49.62, and fifth in a 10,000 in Helsinki, Finland on July 26 in 31:32.17. On August 19, she defended her title at the Guidant Heart of Summer 10K in 32:27. McGregor set her personal 10,000-meter best of 31:21.20 with a 14th place finish in the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. She was fourth in the 10,000 at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials and might have gone to the Athens Games since 10,000 winner Deena Kastor opted to focus on the marathon, but McGregor's season best of 31:51.26 missed Olympic qualifying by six seconds. McGregor, now 29, is originally from Ohio and was an NCAA champion in cross country and the indoor 3000 while at the University of Michigan. She recalls she's run "one or two half-marathons, but not real competitively, and then I ran New Haven a few years ago (2003), so that would probably be my longest" race. She spoke by teleconference on Monday and was joined on the call by Team USA Minnesota Coach Dennis Barker.

Runner's World Daily: Tell us a little about your decision to come to the ING New York City Marathon.Katie McGregor: I'm just so excited to come out to New York and run. I've been putting off the marathon for awhile, but I'm really excited for it now - scared at the same time, but I know, like Mary (Wittenberg, the ING New York City Marathon Race Director) said, it's just something that's going to be a challenge for me whenever I decide to do it. Coming out to New York and just experiencing a marathon with such tradition, having so much support from the New York Road Runners and Mary, it's going to be a great experience no matter what happens. I'm just excited to come out there and run with everyone else in New York. I can't wait to come out there and see what I can do on a 26.2-mile course.

RWD: What does this mean for you on the track, in the 10,000? Are you going to moving to the marathon? Will we see you in Boston at the (2008 Marathon) Trials, or are you just going to see how this goes?KM: Yeah, I'm going to see how this (New York) race goes. I think the marathon will definitely be in my future, but I still feel like I have a lot I want to accomplish in the 10k. I know I can run a lot faster. I just think right now, the women for American distance running are doing so well at so many different races, and I think it's wise for me at this point to get in the marathon and see where my options are. And who knows, if it goes really well, maybe we'll think about that (the 2008 Marathon Trials). But right now, I just want to focus on getting this one race done with, and doing the best I can, and then we'll probably re-evaluate from there. But right now the 10k is my passion, and I'm hoping that the marathon will help me get stronger for that race as well.

RWD: When did you really make the decision to jump up to this distance? Was it a financial enticement that made you decide to go to New York as your choice?KM: No. For the marathon, financially, that wasn't a priority. It was more (that) I'd respected the distance for so long. That's why I have not wanted to jump up to it, and I still felt I had a lot I wanted to accomplish on the track. Those were my two main reasons, just wanting to make sure I stayed healthy for the other events that I was focusing on. At the same time, I just really wanted to make sure I was prepared. I know physically, Dennis prepares us for any type of race we're going to run, in all facets. But mentally, I just feel like I was ready to take the marathon on yet. For some reason, this year I just decided I was a little better prepared, and now that I've committed to the marathon, I'm getting extremely excited for it. I've been reading up on the New York (City) Marathon and the history and just getting really excited to be a part of something that is such a tradition.... It just really fits well into the schedule that we've been plotting out for the past year and the year moving forward. It really just worked out to do a fall marathon this year.

RWD: When you were growing up, and running in high school in Ohio, did you look at the marathon and think "someday, I want to do that," or did you say "no way, I'm a track runner and never want to run long distances like that?"KM: It really wasn't anything I guess I thought about. I've been the type of runner who, from a young age, always worked hard, but I wasn't someone (for whom) running was the focus of everything I did, day in and day out. I got my workouts done, and got my runs done early. I would get up early in the morning and do it just so I could be out with my friends in the afternoon and night and not miss out on everything else. I've always had a healthy balance as far as where running has been in my life, and I feel like as I've gotten older, I've committed to it more and put more time and effort into it. I think that that's why I've been successful so far; I haven't put too much pressure on myself and I haven't tried to take on too much at once. That's why now is a good time. I feel prepared to go out there and give it a shot. I think with the success that all the other American women have had, it's time for me to move forward and start putting myself out there. I think that this is going to be a great experience....

I keep saying that Dennis (Barker) is making me do it, but he's really not. He's a huge fan of the marathon and he believe in all the athletes so much. I think he really believes that I can do well at it and I think his confidence is what has kind of pushed me to take the leap.

RWD: You alluded to the schedule you and Dennis have mapped out. Can we assume one of the reasons for wanting to come to New York was that having still been competing in Europe late into the summer, this marathon works out better than others in terms of the number of weeks you'd need to build up to a marathon?KM: When we decided to do one, there were only so many options for what I wanted to do in the fall. New York just really fits into my time schedule. At the same time, even though it is a little bit of a harder course, I feel like it's something that I'm suited for. I feel like this (New York) was the place I fit in, when it all came down to it, and also the place where I wanted to go.... Instead of taking a break around this time, I've just continued to train and get ready for the marathon.

RWD: You're a member of Team USA Minnesota, which is one of the training groups that gets financial support from New York Road Runners. And now there's this American prize money at the ING New York City Marathon. If you contrast all of this with what American runners had to look forward to at the time you entered college and were thinking about what your future was beyond that, there were nothing like these kinds of financial opportunities at that point, were there?KM: Not that I recall. There definitely were groups out there, like the Reebok Enclave (in the Washington DC area). First and foremost, Reebok is my sponsor and they've been there for me. They're my main financial support. And now, we have Team USA Minnesota, which does give financial support, and medical support, (and) a great coach and support staff - Dennis Barker is incredible, and we can't say enough about him, and Pat Goodwin gives her time, day in and day out, and she has her own business and takes time out for us. But yeah, there are so many more opportunities now, and I think that's why American distance running is starting to be more and more successful. There's that little bit of extra financial support and all the other little things that go along with it - just being able to get into a doctor right away when you need to, and running all these races and you get to go home with something a little extra in your pocket for the weekend.

It adds up, especially for people who do have to work part-time or full-time jobs and you can miss out on a day or something because of the travel. It just takes away the stress of having to worry about where your next paycheck is going to come from. So I think we're very lucky as this stage of the game, and I hope it continues, that we get more groups like this, throughout the United States, because as you can see, especially with Hansons as well and the group out in California (Team Running USA) , that things are really starting to look up for the Americans.

RWD: Since 2004, other than Deena Kastor, there really hasn't been an outstanding marathon run by an American woman (Colleen DeReuck ran 2:28:40 and Blake Russell 2:29:10 in 2005, and Jen Rhines 2:29:32 in 2006). We know the potential is out there, and other younger people may step up to the marathon and do quite well. But do you really see, especially looking to 2008, that there are two pretty wide open marathon spots on the Olympic team for the Americans - that if you could pop a 2:26 or 2:27 at this point, that would put you in good shape?KM: Well, I don't agree. First of all, Deena's an inspiration to everyone and it was just amazing to watch her at the last Olympics. But even though when I get to the line I'm competing with these women and I believe I'm just as good as them on any given day, I've looked up to Colleen De Reuck and Jen Rhines and Marla Runyan. There have been so many great marathoners, and Blake Russell has been running incredibly. So I don't think there are any wide open spots. I think it's the opposite. I think that there are so many women who are running well right now, and we have a lot of talent. And there's a lot of movement from 5k up to the marathon because of that. Everybody's just trying to stay healthy and figure out what their best bet is for 2008. That (the 2008 Olympics) is obviously a huge goal for me and it's going to be a hard decision., if the marathon does go well. At the same time, I don't even want to worry about my time (in New York) right now. This is going to be a good experience but a learning experience. If I don't go out and run 2:26, then I'm not going to be disappointed in myself and I don't think it's going to discourage me from going out and possibly running in Boston in 2008 (at the Olympic Marathon Trials). I don't think the time is really going to be the significant factor. It's just going to be how I feel and how well everyone else seems to be running at the time.

RWD: What is it about marathon running that you don't know that concerns you the most?KM: Everybody that has run the marathon has experienced something different, and my experience is going to be different going to different from what every single other person is going to be experiencing that day. When I say I'm "scared," I'm not really scared. I think in an excited way I am, just because it's something new and something I haven't done, and I think that it is a huge leap from the 10k up to the marathon. So it's just the unknown, and knowing that I'll probably feel well throughout much of the race, and then just waiting for the ball to drop and you don't know when it's coming. And hopefully it won't come, but I think it's just the unknown factor. But at the same time, I've gone to the line many times and you're always a little bit scared or nervous, but as soon as the gun goes off, that's when I feel at home. So I'm hoping that I'll feel at home on the streets of New York as well.

RWD: Do you have any plans to race between now and November 5?KM: Yes, I'm going to the Twin Cities Ten-Mile race, which I do every year, and I plan on doing the Tufts 10K (for Women) as well (she is the defending champion in both races).

RWD: Who are you training with for this marathon? Are any of the other Team USA Minnesota women doing fall marathons?KM: We do have two other women doing fall marathons. Sara Wells is doing the Twin Cities Marathon, and Annie Bersagel is doing one - which one is she doing? Is she doing Florence? We don't know yet. She's over in Norway, and actually, Sara is in Kansas right now, so even though they're both doing marathons, we're just training together in spirit (laughs). We're not actually on the roads. I've been doing most of the running on my own. I'll do parts of my runs with Jenelle Deatherage; she'll do her long runs with me but then I'll have to add on them. I've also been running with another local runner preparing for a fall marathon, Pete Miller. He's been running with my on the weekends. There's not a lack of running partners here in the Twin Cities. I've been pretty much on my own for now, just because everybody's been on different schedules. Carrie (Tollefson) has been running in Europe.